Don’t end up being skinny fat
If weight loss is your goal ‘Energy Balance’ is what should be your focus. Understanding energy balance is the main determinant of weight management. An energy surplus equates to an increase in body mass, and an energy deficit equates to a decrease in body mass.
In order to improve body composition, the main goal must be to decrease body fat while keeping caloric intake as high as possible. This will provide you with enough calories to minimise any loss of lean body mass and create a greater caloric bank to draw from to combat plateaus. Crash diets don’t work according to research!
The most common mistake people make when attempting to shed fat is simultaneously reducing caloric intake and increasing exercise energy expenditure. The problem with this strategy is it creates a magnified energy deficit caloric reduction plus increased energy expenditure and it reduces your “caloric bank.” If you’re in a magnified caloric deficit, you will lose body mass too fast to maintain lean body mass, which in turn will negatively affect your basal metabolic rate (i.e. the amount of energy your body uses for basic life function.
Regular exercise allows you to eat more food without gaining weight and can also have a small impact on weight loss. If you just diet in order to lose weight and do no exercise you could end up being skinny fat as you are not doing anything to ensure you keep/build your muscle mass or firming up what you have. Use it or you’ll lose it.
Also the ability to train effectively during each training session is really what builds lean muscle, cranks up your metabolic rate, and allows you to burn more calories during the other 23 hours of the day that you’re not training. To train effectively and truly maximise every training session, you must be properly fuelled. When attempting to reduce body fat, many people utilise calorically restrictive diets that interfere with their ability to maintain adequate training frequency, volume, and intensity. Intense training without the proper fuel blunts progress.
Do Carbs Cause You to Gain Weight?
No, no, no, no, NO!!
If you eliminate carbs from your diet, studies have shown that more serious side effects such increasing your chances of developing diabetes and heart disease. We should choose healthier carbs that are whole grain, and limit the ones with little or no nutritional value such as processed carbs eg corn syrup.
BENEFITS OF GOOD CARBS
– High in fiber which lowers your cholesterol.
– High in nutrients.
– Provides a stable energy level without spiking your glucose levels.
– Boosts metabolism and actually helps you lose fat.
HEALTHY CARBS
When you are looking for healthy carbohydrates, look for the unprocessed (or very little processed) carbs. Foods that have little or no alteration from their natural state are essential to your health.
CARBS TO AVOID
Processed carbs, such as the baked goodies, lollies, chocolate, etc in the supermarket, have all of the healthy nutrients and fibre removed during their processing. The problem with these carbs is that the human body does not process them well. In fact, these types can cause spikes in blood sugar which can lead to diabetes. They also provide almost no nutritional value and are considered empty calories. Other diseases that are linked to processed carb consumption include cancer and heart disease.
The following processed carbohydrates should be limited to only occasional consumption:
Lollies
Most baked goods
Soft drinks
Snack foods
White breads and white pastas
THE DANGERS OF REDUCING CARBS
Eating too few carbohydrates can cause low energy levels, digestive problems and deprive your body of beneficial nutrients. Some of the problems that people have from not consuming enough carbs are headaches, constipation, dizziness, fatigue, grumpiness constant muscle aches. There are more serious consequences as bad carbs are thought to be the cause of kidney stones, higher risk of cancer and heart disease.
Limiting highly processed carbs is what you should be focusing on. Cutting out good carbs can be detrimental for your body and actually make you gain weight instead of lose it. Nutritionists and health professionals recommend cutting out processed carbs while being careful not to cut down on good carbs too much.
A healthy diet must include some carbohydrates. If you obsessively cut your carb consumption it can backfire and defeat your diet plans. Focus on cutting out the bad carbs and replacing with good carbs.
WOMEN WHO EXERCISE NEED IRON
This post is aimed at those with “XX” chromosomes (girls).
Interestingly, a study conducted last year by the University of Melbourne found that women who took iron supplements performed a given exercise at a higher efficiency but with a lower heart rate. The research showed that increased iron levels help athletes perform as well as improving health in general.
Iron deficiency often occurs in people who exercise intensely. Iron is an essential mineral used
to transport oxygen to all parts of the body. A slight deficiency in iron can cause fatigue or a feeling of weakness.
The average female needs approximately 18 milligrams (mg) of iron daily.
Here is a list of foods packed full of iron:-
– Oysters, Mussels, Clams, Abalone, Cuttlefish, Scallops
– Liver (YUK!!!) from Pork, Chicken, Lamb and Beef
– Pumpkin Seeds, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Flax
– Nuts such as Cashew, Pine, Hazelnut, Peanut, Almond
– Lean cuts of Beef and Lamb (red meats)
– Lentils and Beans such as Soybeans, Kidney, Chickpeas, Lima, Black Beans, Black eyed peas
– Whole grains and bran such as Quinoa, Oatmeal, Barley, Rice, Buckwheat.
– Dark Leafy greens like Spinach, Raw Kale, Raw Beet Greens
– Dark Chocolate and Cocoa
– Tofu without added calcium as this will affect the iron absorption by your body.